


To Have Loved and Lost (Redux)

by orphan_account



Category: Tales of Crestoria
Genre: Bonding, Gen, Jealousy, M/M, Other, Pre-Slash, Video Game Mechanics, Written while the game only has 4 chapters so some creative licenses taken, ambigous timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:54:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25534693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Was?” Kanata asked hesitantly, and turned downcast, “Oh, i’m so sorry to hear that, Aegis,”“Our time together wasn’t as long as i hoped it would’ve been,” he murmured, “But it was… precious. He was quite the character, and it didn’t take long at all for me to fall for him,”-If Misella had allowed him to explain himself, the rude girl, then Aegis could’ve told her he did know what it’s like to fall in love.(Based on Aegis' 'To Have Loved and Lost' Character Episode and it kinda spiral from there)
Relationships: Vicious/Aegis Alver
Comments: 7
Kudos: 59





	To Have Loved and Lost (Redux)

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, i am aware this game is barely 1-2 weeks old. Yes, i am aware there is not much context for this ship, though honestly their interactions are cute.
> 
> Do i care? 
> 
> No.
> 
> Also, may contain spoilers and is derived a lot from character episodes because those are golden.

Honestly, his travelling companions are an impudent bunch.

His protest has long since fell on Vicious and Misella’s deaf ears in favour of their own scuffle, but the dismissal only made Aegis even angrier. And to think that he had been open to the thought of sharing something personal with them earlier, only to be immediately shot down. Wrong person to ask, she said! How rude!

Truthfully, Aegis realized that his ambition and pursue of justice left little for much in his life, much less romance, but that doesn’t mean he never fell in love. It hadn’t been the same fiery - if one could pardon the pun - passion Misella blatantly held for Kanata, but Aegis was all too familiar with the experience. Of feeling unexplainable fluttering in one’s chest, the excitement and gratitude you can feel simply due to their existence, the willingness to do anything for them.

And of course, the longing that left him bereft, his heart calling for one person only.

Just the thought of said person made the fair-haired disgraced knight sigh, the sound drowned out by Kanata’s panicked and futile attempt to stop Vicious and Misella’s increasingly hostile fight.

Yet, it was a love story that was destined to fail before it can truly bloom. His first love, one that still leave deep ache in him even after so long.

And yet, they dare belittle it!

This whole situation is seriously pissing him off. He really need to take his frustration out on _someone_.

“Kanata,”

The frantic boy turned, wide concerned eyes taking one look at him before stumbling backwards at the sight of Wavering Heart standing tall and proud, held in Aegis’ tight grip, “Aegis!” he exclaimed, “W-why do you have your Blood Sin out!?”

“We should get to training too,” the older Transgressor said, ignoring the immediate protest on how Vicious and Misella’s destructive spat is definitely _not_ training, “Based on the battle earlier, it seems that i have yet to beat the vanity out of your fighting style after all,”

“B-but i want to look cool— Waaaah! Okay, i’m sorry, i’ll do less of that— Aegis, that was too close! Okay, i’ll very rarely do that move again— Gyaaa! Misella, Vicious, Meakyu, anyone, help me!”

* * *

“His name was Diabolique,” Aegis told them later, over Kanata’s heavy, tired gasps and groans of pain, “And he was a true warrior of justice who’s very committed to the cause he believed in,”

Misella’s unblinking stare was uneasy to look at directly with its intensity, while Kanata’s sudden attention to him made it look like he suddenly forgot all the pain he had been moaning about, “Was?” he asked hesitantly, and turned downcast, “Oh, i’m so sorry to hear that, Aegis,”

The ex-knight took the condolences gratefully, “Our time together wasn’t as long as i hoped it would’ve been,” he murmured, looking down to his half eaten bowl of stew - full of meat and nothing else, he _really_ need to have a talk with Misella about appropriate diet intake, “But our time together was… precious. He was quite the character, and it didn’t take long at all for me to fall for him,”

Diabolique was a man who was the complete opposite of Aegis himself, or at least, how people would usually describe him. Boisterous and loud to Aegis’ reserved and stiff nature, brave to the point of recklessness, and one of Aegis’ favorite trait of his, always full of quips, snarks and charming one-liners even under the pressure of intense battle - something he himself wish he could do, but alas.

A dashing and loveable rogue, who, underneath all the bravado held a heart of gold and unwavering sense of justice that not many seems to understand or managed to catch, which made people paint him as callous, instead. Aegis is not one of these people, and hence why the man had so intensely captured his heart.

“I remember taking every break i got from the academy to spend time with him, under the grand tree just outside of training barracks where it’s the quietest,” Aegis sighed wistfully, the place he spoke of taking picture in his mind. If, at any time in this journey, he suddenly grew to miss the Kingdom of Medagal, those days were one of his fondest memories to look back to, “Stories of his adventures are some of my favorite, so much that i would even dream of joining him in them,”

“Wow,” Kanata breathed in awe, eyes no longer looking exhausted but now newly energised, “Those must be some amazing stories,”

“They are,” Aegis readily agreed, “And Diabolique, he had this way of living that i envy at times. We’re so different, and yet i admire him so much, it’s not to stretch to say that he moulded me to the person i am today,”

He heard a sharp intake of breath from beyond the bonfire in the middle of them, and saw that Misella had gained the same expression as Kanata’s. She frowned all of the sudden, however, and quietly - and seemingly unaware that she’s squeezing Meakyu in her hands, who began to squeak in terror - asked, “How did he die?”

Aegis involuntarily winced. It felt like it was yesterday that it all happened, and the pain in his chest made it felt like he was back at that moment again, instead of years after, “He died like the true warrior that he’s always so proud to be; in the midst of battle. He stood his ground and took a fatal blow meant for a brother in arms, saving his life in return,” his breathing stuttered, the painful ache from so long ago returning, “He was my first, and to date, probably my only love. I mourned him for so long, and probably never truly stopped,”

There’s a sad sigh from either Kanata or Misella - or probably both - and having finally escaped the girl’s death grip, Meakyu quickly scamper away to his leg. Aegis picked him up, and let the creature sit on his lap.

A loud clang from the side broke the heavy silence that had settled for a brief moment, and the three transgressors turned to see the Great Transgressor now standing up, empty bowl held carelessly in one hand, “Alright, enough with this pity party, this ain’t a funeral,” he loudly exclaimed, the briefest hint of scowl on his face, “Guy’s probably had one long time ago, there’s no need to have his second one here of all places,”

“Vicious, don’t be mean,” Kanata admonishes, lips curling in disapproval, “Aegis’ story is really sad,”

But like always, the man only shrugged with a click of tongue, “I’m gonna go and drink on my own if you’re all gonna go all sad and sappy like this. It’s so not my scene,”

“Then find a different scene, preferably somewhere nowhere near us,” Misella threw with little effort to hide her dislike for the raven haired man. Aegis had somewhat expected Vicious to throw a mean jab back, so the sight of Vicious simply tossing a callous gesture - that made Aegis almost protest about how he shouldn’t do something like that to a lady, until Misella threw one back and he remembered this is just how these two are - was honestly surprising.

When the gunslinger’s footsteps finally faded away, Kanata moved to take the now vacated space, closer to Aegis than he was before, “Can you tell us more about him? Diaboloque sounds like such a cool guy. What does he look like?” Quietly, Misella settled next to him, bright green eyes once again staring unblinking at Aegis. The fair haired ex-knight, moved his gaze from one to the other, and could already tell from their expression that they’re not going to let him go anywhere before he satisfies what is obviously going to be a barrage of questions.

Still, at least, they didn’t doubt him anymore.

* * *

Their travels, not to mention his own circumstances, may have opened Aegis’ eyes to the failings in their world’s justice system, but it doesn’t stop him from feeling like he is being punished for his marking as a transgressor. And the constant headache and irritation that is his juvenile travelling companions were the harshest punishment the universe can dole out on anyone.

With little regards to their dwindling supplies and funds, these children - including Vicious, _especially_ Vicious - had gone and splurge on so many useless things. Why would they need premium meat and top of the shelf booze in their journey? How are accessories supposed to benefit them in any way!?

(And for the last time, Misella, his Mechaknight Avalanche figurine is _not_ the same as those useless stuff, it’s the holy grail for every Avalanche fan and is therefore a very appropriate purchase, thank you very much)

Even worse, while Vicious and Misella - though reluctantly - had agreed with him at first on Kanata’s purchase, they quickly changed their tunes after being the boy presented the accessories he had bought for them, the traitors.

Misella blushed brighter than the colour of her fire every time she touched her new bunny-ear band. And if Vicious’ usual shoddy attempt to cloak himself - being inconspicuous does not involve _still baring your entire torso out_ \- barely disguise him at times, then those eye-catching sunglasses are going to ruin his sorry excuse of a disguise even further.

Also, if Kanata dared to ask him to put on those deplorable items one more time, Aegis will actually commit murder with his own bare hands this time and surrender himself to the first enforcer that arrives.

“Don’t be your usual spoilsport self, Mr. Spoilsport,” Vicious’ usual face would sometimes trigger this fight-or- _fight_ response in Aegis, but added with the sunglasses and it felt like there’s something violent threatening to erupt from him. How could a piece of eyewear make someone look even more like a irredeemable scoundrel is beyond him, and the smug grin definitely doesn’t help, “The kid means well. Look, we’re all wearing some fancy-ass piece now,”

In a furious motion, Aegis pointed where Kanata was quietly sulking, still holding on to those… travesty, “He wants me to wear _cat ears and tail_ ,”

“I just want to give you guys something that really compliments your best assets,” the young swordsman almost whined, poking on the fluffy ears perched on top of the transparent hairband.

_“How is a cat’s ears and tail supposed to compliment my best assets?!”_

Eyes suddenly shining behind his new framed glasses, with a sudden burst of confidence Kanata proudly proclaimed, “It enhances your elegance and match your colouring!” at the same time as Vicious drawled, “Cuz you’re always as angry as a drowned cat,”

Aegis didn’t manage to skewer Vicious as planned, but he is willing to let the all meat diner slide until the bright red handprint on the Great Transgressor’s face disappear. Misella deserved this reward.

* * *

Once the kids and Meakyu are asleep, in the middle of watch, Aegis’ eyes were once again drawn to the now abandoned ears and tails. With a grimace, he picked them up, and sighed, “Honestly, what was he thinking,” he murmured, glancing towards the bedroll where Kanata slept, “The meat’s barely acceptable and the booze is such a waste, but this… this is just…,”

From behind him, he heard the fire crackle, and turned to see Vicious tossing another log of wood into the blaze. His sunglasses were still on, brightly reflecting the flame in front of him, “What do you think? He’s trying to cheer you up, you dense blockhead,”

Aegis was willing to let the insult slide for now on account of his confusion, “Why would he need to cheer me up?”

Vicious turned to face him, and even with the sunglasses on, somehow Aegis still felt the judgemental look and quickly considered whether or not its worth bothering the other two’s sleep to finish what he couldn’t earlier, “Come on, who was all sad about his dead boyfriend just days ago? _Oh, he was so strong and had the most gorgeous dark hair, he likes to drink grown up drinks and donate to charity_ or whatever,” he tossed his head backwards and groaned, “Not to mention all that talk about sense of justice, sounds like such a bore. No wonder you like him so much,”

With gritted teeth, Aegis glared at the man, “Don’t you dare insult Diabolique! Better his brave sense of justice than the senseless violence _you_ always incite, you ruffian!”

In a gesture that only seems to ignite the blue-clad man’s anger even further, Vicious gave an obviously fake yawn. Unable to control his irritation further, Aegis strode over and grabbed the taller man by his collar, and found himself staring at his own angry reflection on the sunglasses lenses, “Listen here you utter—“

In a movement too frighteningly fast, suddenly Aegis felt himself grabbed and his world being tipped over, and when he came to, he was no longer looming over Vicious. Instead, he had been flipped with his back on the ground with Vicious over him, the man’s calloused and rough hand gripping on Aegis’ own that’s still grabbing on the Great Transgressor’s coat.

Beyond the sound of his blood rushing in his ears, Aegis heard the man chuckling lowly, “Anyone ever told you, you need to loosen up a bit, Mr. Knight?” with gravity at work, the sunglasses, already hanging precariously from its handle on Vicious’ ears, finally fell on Aegis’ chest with a tip of his head. Even shadowed by the curtain of dark hair, the fair haired man could still see the dangerous, downright predatory look that flashes on the criminal’s face, “I can tell that there’s something… fun, under all that honour you wound yourself up with,”

A retort bubbled up and just as quickly fizzled out on Aegis’ tongue. His heart is hammering under his rib cage, so loud and fast he could tell Vicious hears it too.

Then, as if in slow motion, Vicious’ face slowly grew closer.

Aegis could feel his breath caught in his throat, “Wh—“

Then the black-clad man was gone just like that, just as something was settled on the top of his head, “Oh look, the kid’s right,” Vicious hummed, somewhere that seems close yet far enough, just as Aegis began to sat up and grabbed on whatever it was on the top of his head, “It does matches your colouring. Good eyes,”

With just a brush of his finger with a furry, almost triangular object, it was easy to tell that the cat ears band had now made it to the top of Aegis’ head. He hadn’t quite stopped processing that when something else was tossed on to his lap, long and equally furry. The tail.

“It’s gonna be a bigger waste if you don’t wear them, you know,” Vicious’ retreating figure tossed over his shoulder, walking towards the direction of their camp, “Just humour him for now. See ya tomorrow,”

It took Aegis a couple of seconds, enough time for Vicious to completely disappear behind bushes, to come up with a retort, “You watch is not up yet, you scoundrel!”

* * *

It wasn’t until it was nearly dawn that it occurred to Aegis that Vicious left before he even told stories of Diabolique’s appearance and his noble deeds. There is no way he could’ve known, unless he stuck around close enough to hear the rest of Aegis’ story after he left. He wanted to confront the man, but Kanata and Misella were awake, and were so noisy about his decision to finally don on the humiliating attachments, down to the tail that were worn by the attached belt and would occasionally smack against his calf with every step he took.

When both Kanata and Misella were far enough ahead, Vicious sidled up next to him and whispered, “Shame he’s got the one with the belt, i would’ve bought you the easier to wear one. You know, the one that could be attached by putting it up your—“

Aegis thinks he could see the appeal on Misella’s approach, because the smack of his palm on Vicious’ face was satisfying like nothing else.

* * *

“I don’t think i could be as strong as you,” Misella spoke out of nowhere, during the preparation for their dinner, “If i ever lose Kanata like that,”

Aegis paused from chopping up potatoes - the result of the hard battle against their resident meat lover, that ended with a compromise of balanced diet including vegetables that _yes, fine you don’t need to eat all of it just stop giving them to Kanata -_ and glanced over to where Misella stood over the barely simmering pot, “I didn’t think i would’ve been able to move on too at the time,” Aegis told her, going back to chopping albeit in slower fashion, “I supposed i still have yet to, but… it gets easier,”

“How painful was it?” she asked, the tremble in her voice clear despite er words being barely a whisper, “To lose someone so precious to you?”

He paused again to face her, and somehow, like this, it dawned on him just how young she really is. He heard of her and Kanata’s story over their journey, of the discovery of his father’s crime, of meeting Vicious and the subsequent exile from their hometown. Fighting side by side with them, he could hardly distinguish them from the soldiers he had fought alongside of through his time as a knight.

And yet, they are still _children._ Kanata, who lost everything he had once known in a single night, and Misella, who bore a terrible secret for her love one’s happiness and narrowly escaped a horrible fate no child should ever be subjected to. Too young to be branded as criminals deserving erasure, who he himself had hunted down in the name of his then absolute and unshaken justice.

The fair haired man reached out, and held her shaking hand, stilling it with his firm hold, “It’s excruciating,” he told her honestly, watching the green of her eyes expand, “That’s why, you need to hold on to them tightly. Treasure them. Fight for them with all you have, until you can no longer fight,”

He hadn’t expected this sort of topic to be brought up while making dinner, and Aegis was even less ready to suddenly receive an armful of teenage girl burying her face on his chest and holding on to him with the strength belying her small frame. Stiffly, Aegis placed his hand on her back and instantly looked around the clearing they had set up in for the day, looking for help that won’t come. Vicious and Kanata were both out hunting for tonight’s dinner, Meakyu along with them.

She let go soon after, and her silence signalled that this topic is closed for now. Aegis gladly allowed it and went back to prepping, all the while barely acknowledging the sense of _warmth,_ of closeness he has long since experience with someone outside of his own parents.

For dinner that night, it was yet again a struggle to get Misella to eat her veggies, but instead of dumping them on Kanata, now she dumps her unwanted bits on _Aegis._

He thinks it’s supposed to mean something, but he was too busy lecturing her on the importance of balanced nutrition to dwell on it for too long.

* * *

“I think Kanata should buy you a new accessory soon. The cat theme’s lost its novelty now,”

Once again Aegis found himself sharing a watch with Vicious, and after a few night like this, he’s beginning to think that there’s some foul play on the roster. Of course, Misella would do her absolute best to make sure Kanata never share a watch with Vicious alone, and she also refused to spend time alone with the man. That means more often than not, during these in between moments in the wilderness, Aegis was the one who had the pleasure of sharing watch with the Great Transgressor.

Joy.

He decided not to entertain whatever drivel the man is sure to come up with now, which is utterly futile because Vicious doesn’t need to wait on anyone’s permission to go and ruin a perfectly good silence, “He should go with duck next time, like one of those detachable yellow floaties. Oh, or the duck beak mask. Or maybe the—”

“And why,” Aegis gritted, already realizing that he lost this game he didn’t even know he’s playing. Vicious will only brute force his way through winning, one confounding sentence at a time, “would a duck theme suit me?”

Then grin that appeared on Vicious’ face was beyond unbearable, it’s a perfectly sufficient invitation for a duel to the death, “Cuz you’re a mama duck with 2 new ducklings,” he leered at the head of gold and pink taking each side of Aegis’ shoulders. Kanata shifted slightly, head lolling and almost falling if not for Aegis’ quick reflex, and the sight of it just made Vicious grin wider, “You went from wanting to kill ‘em to practically reading them bedtime stories. Next time, i’ll look away a bit and you’ll be nursing them or something,”

“You are utterly abhorrent,” Aegis hissed in contempt, and hating the feeling of his face heating up that has nothing to do with the bonfire in front of him. Kanata and Misella had taken to asking him some of Diabolique’s adventure at first, but they had later on asked about his childhood and stories from his trainee days instead. He would’ve willingly told them of the stories of adventures he so dearly treasured, but it would seem that they had decided that stories about _him_ was somehow more interesting.

(“They’re trying to preserve your fragile, widowed heart, kitten,” Vicious had told him one night when he made the mistake of voicing his confusion out loud, invoking that much hated nickname he settled with since Aegis had taken to wearing Kanata’s well meaning gift. He would’ve taken them off permanently, but the last time he did, the boy actually _pouted,_ and a sad Kanata means an irate Misella and look at that, he’s sacrificing his pride for the sake of this group’s unity by now)

Vicious simply smirked at his response, “It might not be too bad, you know,” he snickered, taking off his now ever-present sunglasses. He’s taken to wearing them even when the sun isn’t _out_ , which is the one situation it was even good for, and honestly Aegis thought he should just give up on trying to figure out the inner workings of Vicious’ mind. There is absolutely nothing to gain for him there, “You ever been to some of the lower southern area of the continent?”

“A couple of times for an assignment, yes,” Aegis replied, somewhat warily, “Why?”

“You’ll thrive there. The gentleman’s clubs in that area apparently had a lot of request for widowed mothers fantasies, called it the Moms I’d Like To— Guaghh!”

“You’re so noisy,” Misella’s voice was thick with sleep, yet still heavily dripping with contempt. She barely paid any attention to her success in singing Vicious’ pant leg in favour of helping the now roused Kanata up, both stumbling over to where their bedrolls are. Mid way, she suddenly stopped, turned, and tugged Aegis by his arm, “Vicious can keep watch by himself tonight,”

‘Oi! What about the ‘needing two to watch every time’ rule?! If you guys leave me, i’m gonna go to sleep too! And i’ll run away if any enforcers come and leave you to them!”

No enforcers came that night, and Aegis woke up to Vicious still awake, sitting on the same spot, muttering and obviously sulking by the campfire where they last left him.

Aegis gave Misella some extra meat and less vegetables for breakfast that morning.

(He might’ve also ended up buying some thread and mending the burned hole on Vicious’ pants while he bathed, but if the man noticed, he never mentioned it)

* * *

With their status as transgressors, comfort was few and far in between. So when they managed to enter a quiet enough little village and managed to secure some rooms, this turn of event was greeted with relish, that not even Aegis can complain about Kanata’s decision to spend for 4 rooms instead of a more cost-effective 2. The closest Vision Orb was miles away, the innkeeper had said, and the news of new transgressors were brought by the traders who lived in the settlement and conduct their business in the larger towns. It sort of explained why, as Vicious quickly shed his cloak after the news - much to his travel companions’ horror - the old man had simply warned him to wear more clothes since the winter is upon them.

Being able to sleep on a bed again felt like such a luxury that Aegis decided he wanted to excuse himself from Kanata and Misella’s offer to shop and decided to catch on some sleep. Vicious had gone somewhere the moment they finished settling in their rooms, and he hoped the Great Transgressor would also enjoyed the peace too much to ruin it for everyone else.

At the loud banging on the door, sometime in the middle of the night and Aegis’ well deserved rest, the ex-knight’s thought first ran to them being discovered and having to run away again. He hurried to the door, all tense, and instantly deflated when he only saw Vicious leaning heavily on the doorframe waiting for him, face flushed and reeking of booze. Figures, “What is it?”

For a moment, the raven haired man didn’t reply. The lack of his sunglasses, still kept in his pocket but rarely worn again - the novelty probably wore off for him too - showed roaming eyes, running up and down Aegis’ form silently. As seconds ticked by, the more conscious Aegis became, “W-what?”

“Y’er nak’d,”

He most certainly was not. Granted, Aegis had taken to taking off his uniform and for once slept unguarded in a white singlet and undergarments. Which… he supposed, is not much. Okay, maybe he needs to be more self-conscious about his state of undress, but then he is faced with the man whose pants rode so low on his hips it would hardly take much to replicate those childish games that often happen in the soldier barracks, and wore a useless piece of cape that covers very little of his upper body.

Maybe Aegis should be more worried, exactly because he is faced with such man.

He couldn’t tell, his head is still heavy with sleep.

In the silence, Vicious had pushed his way inside, and now unobstructed by the door, Aegis could blearily see a full bottle in his hand, its content sloshing inside with every drunken stumble the man took, “Fucking bartender cutting m’ off,” he spat irritably once he threw himself on the empty chair near the bed, and honestly, it had only occurred to Aegis then that he never heard Vicious truly _curse_ , “Least he lemme off with one of these, but how the fuck can one shitty bottle end the night? I’m gonna need a couple more,”

“You sound inebriated enough,” Aegis observed, sitting on the edge of the bed. Now slightly more awake and therefore more aware of his undressed self, his eyes flicker with want to the clothes draped on the seat Vicious was sitting on. But with the man there, he can’t really grab at them.

“Inebriated, Schnibreated,” Vicious grumbled, almost unintelligibly, hand still swinging the bottle without care, “But who says i’m g’tting it for me? Here’s for you,” And with that, he actually tossed the whole bottle over to Aegis, who barely caught it and almost let it fall on the floor.

“You fool! You could’ve broke this!” the fair haired man berated, tightening the grip on the bottle before glancing down at the label. It’s nothing special, just a run-in-the-mill brand every bar has on stock, but it was one of the better ones he know of, the ‘5th cheapest wine’ as he remembered a soldier once describe it as. A proper wine instead of some swill masquerading as one.

“It ain’t for staring, kitten,” Vicious slurred from his seat, and for all he seems drunk, his eyes looks surprisingly focused on the way Aegis was reading the bottle’s label, “It’s for fucking drinking. Even your uptight ass should know that much,”

Aegis’ first instinct was to refuse and send Vicious on his way, but the lull of comfort drink and the peaceful place they finally found reeled him in. And to quell the irritation over the other man’s comment, he took a few daring gulps, effectively downing the bottle by a quarter before he let up with a satisfied sigh, “I’m a soldier, drinking is one of our staple activity,”

A cocked grin made its way to Vicious’ face, “ _Former_ soldier, “ he emphasised on the first word, “and a fucking pussy. You can only chug down that much?”

A frown appeared on Aegis’ face, taking up the challenge by drinking even more before letting up. There’s less than half now, “Surprisingly, you’re only foul-mouthed when drinks are involved. I would think you wouldn’t need the help of alcohol to draw out your natural charming self,”

Whatever reaction Aegis had been expecting from his jab, Vicious’ long suffering, ‘are you dumb’ expression aimed at him wasn’t it, “You fucking with me? You know how fucking tired it is to have my mouth re-arranged every time i accidentally said ‘fuck’ in front of Kanata? Misella doesn’t have hands, she had an entire brick wall hidden under her skin. It’s fucking bullshit,”

Honestly, the answer was somewhat predictable and maybe Aegis should’ve figured it out a while ago, but with the pleasant buzz in his head, added with the adequate sleep made him choke on the sudden image of small Misella with a whole wall as a handcrushing down a hysteric Vicious. Aegis snort-laughed, more snort then laugh, which quickly descended to giggles.

“What the fuck? Soldier my ass, you’re drunk after not even half a bottle?”

Aegis is pretty sure he’s not drunk yet, but laughter came easy still, especially at the image in his mind of Misella’s massive brick hand continuing to slam down on a comically flat Vicious.

“Ah, fuck, you’re wasted. What a sorry ass lightweight. Alright, give that to me, i need it more than you,”

Vicious stood up and leaned over the bed, one arm outstretched for the bottle that Aegis dodged, “You gave it to me, you don’t get to take it back,” he protested, one leg kicking up to push back the other man by his waist.

“Yeah i do, it’s my fucking money,” Vicious reached up again, undeterred by Aegis’ attempt on swatting him away, “Give it back—Oomph!”

One of Aegis’ leg kick finally managed to finds its target and kicked too hard on Vicious’ navel, causing the man to double over and falling right on top of Aegis, sending them both sprawling on the bed. The bottle, the ex-knight distantly processed, is still held upright in his hand, but his grip is slipping and it may fall if he doesn’t quickly make it upright.

But he couldn’t quite move, not with Vicious’ entire weight on him, a head of black hair heavy on his chest and hair fanning around him. Aegis moved one of his leg, trying to aim it to the taller man’s back to push him away, to no avail.

“Vicious,” he finally called out, and oh, his voice is more slurred than he thought it would be, “Vicious, i need to move, get off—“

“The dead ain’t coming back, you know,”

The non-sequitur caught even Aegis’ unbalanced mind off guard. He glanced down to the still unmoving head on his chest, and was about to ask what he meant when Vicious continued, “What’s the fucking point of mourning ‘em all the damn time. They ain’t gonna know you think about them,”

Aegis fell quiet, watching as his deep breath made Vicious’ head move along with the motion. He could feel Vicious’ breathing too, the subtle move of his body and the hot air on his chest. The head finally moved, along with the body, but before the fair haired transgressor could do anything, he was suddenly trapped yet again, when the Great Transgressor suddenly settled heavily between his legs and both of his arms caging his head. Aegis couldn’t look away from the dark eyes staring back to his own glazed ambers, breath caught in his throat.

“The living’s all that matters. People who still wanna keep on living’s more important than the one’s passed, so stop waiting for ‘em and start looking for the ones alive,”

“Vicious,” Aegis gasped, when the man began to lower himself, bridging the distance between their faces. Vicious’ long hair framed Aegis’ frozen face, tickling along his cheek, but even then, the smaller man find himself unable to move. Vicious’ eyes are so dark up close, like the abyss that will suck you inside if one’s not careful, letting you fall and fall and fall with no end in sight…

Somewhere near them, Aegis’ earlier fear of the wine bottle dropping and spilling seems to have come true, because nothing could explain the sound of loud thud followed by the telltale sound of gushing liquid. His own hand, now empty had gone lax, then ever so slowly curling on itself, clutching the sheets underneath.

Vicious’ mouth was furnace hot, greedy and rough like the man himself with the way it stole every breath in Aegis’ lungs and never allowing him to resurface and gather more air. Aegis’ head was swimming, floating like he’s flying. He gasped and panted in between having his lips mauled, distantly aware of the hand that stroke his side with the kind of gentleness that doesn’t compute with how forceful his air was taken away.

“Aegis,” his name was whispered in dark velvet, sending a shiver down his spine, “I’m very much alive,”

The hand on the sheet curled further, knuckles turning white due to the strain of the grip.

A larger hand enveloped it, forcing it to unfurl to slip thin fingers in between trembling fingers. Scarred, calloused hand squeezed, tight but not suffocating.

After a while, the smaller hand squeezed back.

* * *

When Aegis woke up, it wasn’t as much as his own choice as the shock of the shout nearby that send his mind and body to overdrive. Through the curtain of bleariness, he could see the soft pink of Misella’s dress standing nearby, part of her concealed by naked skin and a too familiar red tattoo etched on a body that laid flush against his own.

Another smack and shout, and it wasn’t hard to work out which came from who, “What the hell, Misella?! Can’t you wake us up like normal people would?!”

“How dare you,” she hissed, flat yet full of emotion, “Kanata’s not enough, now Aegis too,”

“What are you— Ow!”

A little more awake, Aegis took to taking inventory of his surrounding. His singlet has somehow ended on the floor nearby, and there is a sweet smell of spilled fruit permeating somewhere. His undergarment is also riding low, which, as he fully wakens, made him all too conscious with his state of near nudity and the fact that there’s a young girl nearby, “Misella, i need to… change. Maybe it’s best you leave the room,”

She turned to him then, angry eyes turning softer at the sight of him, before they widen again. Aegis looked down on himself, and with a half-shout he quickly raise the blanket to cover himself up to the neck, where he hope there’s no more of the bite marks lewdly littering every inch of his skin, “M-misella! I’m so sorry, this is very immodest of me, please leave so i can change—“

It wasn’t long before she did, but not before there was one more, ear ringing, spine tingling smack and okay, maybe Vicious had a point about the brick wall hand, if the mark on the man’s cheek is anything to go with.

* * *

“This Diabolique guy,” Vicious said out of nowhere one night, when their only company for the night was each other’s presence and the crackling bonfire. Meakyu was murmuring in his peaceful sleep on Aegis’ lap, Kanata and Misella are tucked in in their own bedrolls, and Aegis was too comfortable leaning on Vicious’ chest, huddled close considering the beginning of winter air, “He ever got as far as we did?”

Aegis should’ve known something was up when Vicious suddenly mentioned Diabolique. Vicious _never_ mentioned him, made particular effort to remove himself whenever the conversation may somehow mention Aegis’ first love. The one time he mentioned him, of course it’s for something so… so….

So… ridiculous to even consider, “What are you talking about?!”

The Great Transgressor rolled his eyes, hand sneaking into Aegis’ white curls and tugging playfully, “I’m talking about _sex,_ mama duck. Don’t worry, the kids are all asleep, we can have all the adult talk we can have—“

“No, no,” he was so tempted to shove something - preferably his weapon - to the incorrigible man’s mouth because… _what?_ “Why would you ask something like that?!”

“Oh, so discussing our previous partner’s sexual prowess is a no-no? That’s what we’re putting the boundaries on?”

“No, i’m talking about how the hell do you think i would’ve had sex with him!”

Vicious blinked, once, twice, a couple of times. Then he raised both hands, thumb and fist motioning a very crude gesture, “Like that, where else would he put it in—“

Aegis felt like combusting on the spot, “How am i supposed to have sex with him, _when he’s not even real?!_ Diabolique is the protagonist of the 3rd Mechaknight Avalance Novel, Vengeance of the Damned, my favourite of the bunch, and he was seriously my favourite character of the entire franchise! I spent my entire years in the academy reading it. It was the first and only Avalanche novel series where the protagonist died at the end and it left me so heartbroken over the ending i still couldn’t move on from it to this day, okay?!”

In his sleep, Meakyu gave a snorting snore and twitches slightly in Aegis’ hold, unaware of the silent tension above him.

Vicious blinked, once, twice, a couple of times. Then he blinked a couple more times.

_“AEGIS WHAT THE FUCK—“_

**Author's Note:**

> I recognize Tatsuhisa Suzuki's voice from a mile away and now, i cannot see the game's designated serious person as anything other than that one very happy guy i really like in that one basketball anime with the toll friend.


End file.
